There was no way I was going to be outrun by a yorkie.

Even though it a holiday, we were out at 7:00am yesterday on the hike and bike trail for our regular three miles of Couch to 5K running.

Despite knowing I could run the route in 46 minutes based on my last attempt, this time it felt a whole lot harder: I was running on stiff, cold muscles, and my toes were screaming. And something else I didn’t know was that my running partner had secretly increased our pace, specifically the ratio of time spent running vs walking, a subtle but definitely discernable change.

Around the half-way point, two women in their best “mall walking” attire and postures zipped past us on one of our walk cycles. As we started running again, we passed them… and then as we walked, they passed us. If you read my previous post, you’ll understand perhaps why this bugged me. Not inclined to allow a couple of “walkers” to beat me running, I pushed a little harder and got ahead of them.

Even so, as we hit the two mile mark I felt like I was about to collapse into the dirt. It was a tough day out on the trail, and I was definitely slowing down. The extra effort to get past those women pretty much drained me… or so I thought.

Then they passed me. The man walking his yorkshire terrier. A yorkie.

There was no way on this planet that I was going to get passed up by a yorkie. Sure, they’re cute little dogs. With legs about as long as my thumb. At the next run, I took off. And then… just like the women before, the yorkie caught up again.

That’s it. I was tired, but I would not allow a yorkie to beat me. Before I was given the signal to run again, I just took off. And trust me, I ran further and harder than I had all morning, determined to put as much distance between myself and that tiny dog as I possibly could.

I’d like to think I could run that fast if I was being chased by a bear. Honestly, I’m not sure about that. But I now know I can push past my own limits, and run faster if a tiny dog is behind me.

That’s what I call The Yorkie Effect.

By the way… my time on this run was within a couple seconds of my Saturday time. I blame thank the yorkie.